Virgil's Twin
by Raven Artemis
Summary: She was sent away at the age of five. Now, nearly 20 years later she has come back to the island for a long awaited reunoin with her brothers. With her come stories, questions and memories.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Thunderbirds. No flames please, this is my first attempt at fanfiction. constructive criticism welcome. and I do not know if Britain has summer games, but they do now:) 

**Virgil's twin**

_Creighton-Ward Airstrip, 5 pm local time_

Vicki stood next to her thirteen suitcases, Lady Penelope Creighton Ward, and her butler Parker who held Vicki's six clothes bags. (a/n: you know the things people put dresses and stuff in) They were waiting for Vicki's oldest brother to come pick her up, so she could return to her family after nearly a twenty year separation.

"Don't worry, Victoria, he'll be here soon." said Lady Penelope.

"I know Penny, but it's been so long since I last saw them." answered Vicki. In truth it had been six months since she had last seen her two oldest brothers, Scott and John, and that had been when they had come to help Brains fix Penny's baby, FAB 1.

"Yes, but he _is_ on time." said Penelope, pointing up to where they all saw a sleek jet do a couple of barrel rolls, before turning to make its final approach to the airstrip. Then the jet landed and in less than a minute, a tall man with dark hair and brown eyes was walking towards them.

"Scott!" she yelled, running across the field and running straight into him, giving him a huge hug at the same time.

Scott returned her hug, saying "It's great seeing you again Ray."

Vicki laughed. "You're never gonna get the hang of calling me Vicki, are you Scott?"

Scott grinned. "Well, since that's what I've called you for most of you're life, it's a bit hard to break habit."

"That I can understand, and I suppose since Virgil doesn't remember me as his twin, and no one but you and John even remember when we all lived together, I suppose you said an old friend was coming to visit."

"Yep."

"And when Alan asked who all you said was 'that kid, Ray, that we used to play with when we were little'?"

"Right again. Now, if we don't load your stuff, we'll never be back in time for lunch. And Grandma's making blueberry pie."

So they walked back to where Penelope and Parker were waiting.

"Well I suppose you must be off soon." said Penelope, handing Vicki her handbag, that was more like a small duffel bag as Parker handed Scott the clothes bags and put six of the suitcases on a trolly and wheeled it over to the plane, where he put them away in the baggage rack, then went back for the other seven.

"Yes, Grandma's making her famous blueberry pie for lunch."

"And I don't plan on missing any. You're sure you don't want to come Penny?"

"I'm sure Victoria, no matter how much I'd like to see your meeting with Virgil, Gordon and Alan, it's not my place. Anyhow, I have a dinner party to attend tonight, and I must make sure all the arrangements for next week's children's day are set."

"All right, just remember, you promised to come see us on my birthday."

"I won't forget, Victoria, I wrote it on that wonderful calendar you got me."

Vicki hugs Penny, "Thanks for putting up with me for so long."

"It was no problem at all, in fact I rather enjoyed having someone to talk to."

"We must be going soon Lady P. Dad expects us in a little early, so we can get the 'do you remember' s over before lunch." Scott interrupted.

"Of course. Have a safe flight you two." Penelope said as Parker came back with the empty trolly.

"H'are you leaving now miss Victoria?" Parker asked

"Yes, Parker, I can't wait to see my little brothers."

"H'you may find they h'are not so little now. I must detain you no longer. It was a pleasure serving h'you miss Victoria."

"Why thank you, Parker."

"Vicki, come on we have to go. It was a pleasure to see you again Lady P."

"I'm always delighted to see you boys and help out the Tracy family. And it is high time Victoria returned to the rest of her family, now shoo, or you'll miss your lunch."

Vicki hugged Penny one more time, then she and Scott walked over to the jet, climbed in and got settled, Scott in the pilot seat and Vicki in the copilot seat.

The flight took two and a half hours, during which Scott and Vicki talked about all sorts of things, including how things were going with International Rescue.

(a/n: of course she knows about it, she's family after all.)

They talked about what they'd done since they last say each other, and a dozen different things.

_Tracy Lounge, 11 o'clock am local time._

Jeff Tracy sat at his desk, thinking about his only daughter, who was less than half and hour from landing on the island. This time she was there for good. He was eager for Vicki to come home, and to finally take her place in International Rescue. He was also dreading her return, she was after all Virgil's twin sister. He knew that Virgil may look like a male version of his Lucy, but he also knew that Vicki was nearly the spitting image of her mother. That had been the reason she had been sent to live with his old friend and by that time Lord Creighton Ward in the first place, not as he told Scott and John because she was acting far too much like a boy, even at age five.

As he sat reminiscing, his other four boys, dressed in their best for guests, walked in. The younger three were shocked to find their father at his desk, operation cover-up not yet activated.

"Dad, aren't you forgetting that we have a guest coming today?" asked Alan.

Jeff looked up to find his four boys staring at him. "No, Alan, I have not forgotten. Why?"

Gordon waved his hand around, indicating the pictures of the boys in uniform.

Jeff noticed the boys were dressed up a lot more than usual. "Are you planning on spending the next twenty minutes dressed like that? Go change and swim or something, Ray won't care if you're dressed for success, or in your pajamas, trust me."

"All right father." John said, turning back towards his room, desperately trying not to laugh at what his father has just said, knowing full well it was the truth.

All four boys went back to their rooms and changed, Gordon and Alan to swim, Virgil to finish a seascape painting, and John to read a bit.

Fifteen minutes later all four boys heard the unmistakable sound of the jet approaching, so they all ran down to the airstrip, reaching it as the jet landed, finding everyone else there too. Once it had landed and the engine shut off, the first person out of the plane was their older brother Scott. After glancing around to make sure everyone was there, Scott nodded to someone inside and Vicki, her hair pulled back, wearing inch and a half black stiletto heels, a black tee shirt and a floor length jean skirt steps out of the plane. Both John and Jeff walk over to her and give her a hug each. Then, the other three boys shocked, Scott and John flank her, and Jeff, one hand on her shoulder says, "Boys, you may not remember her, but this is Ray."

Virgil shook his head. "No. I remember her now." He walks forward and hugs her, "Welcome home Vicki."

Vicki grins broadly, "And here I was, thinking you'd forgotten me."

"I nearly had." he admitted, "but when I was working on a project I painted a portrait of... well, you."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Gordon, what's wrong?" Jeff asks.

Everyone turns to find Gordon gawking at Vicki.

"Y-you look like V-virge, a-and m-mom." Gordon stuttered in shock.

Alan peered at Vicki closely and he too noticed the resemblance to Virgil and the one photo of his mother he'd seen. "Gordo's right."

"And for finally catching on to the thirty six point three eight seconds difference, both little brothers each get..." Virgil started.

"A hug from the older sister they never knew, the shock of their lives, and someone else to torture with their pranks." Vicki finished, walking over and hugging each of them.

"Hang on, we've had an older sister, literally forever, and we never knew?" asked Alan.

"Hey, I'd nearly totally forgotten her for nearly twenty years, and I'm her twin." said Virgil, trying to soften the blow.

"Truth be told," said Jeff finally speaking up, "None of you would've totally forgotten her."

"Why?" asked Gordon.

"Firstly, she's your sister, and secondly, do you know that drawing in the kitchen, of pegasus and unicorns? She did that."

"Really? I always wondered who did that." said Virgil, "It's really good."

"Thanks, I did that for this house." said Vicki, blushing.

"Hang on," said Gordon, "You knew about the island, and the house before we did?"

"And I knew about the 'Birds, if you look at the picture, each pegasus is a specific color, same with the unicorns."

"I asked her to join, and help with the architecture, but she said she wanted to finish school first." said Jeff.

"But I helped with the basic plans, and how it should be set up, both for easy access and so it wasn't all cramped together."

"School?" asked Gordon, "But, you would have been, what, 23?"

"Yes, I was 23, but I had one more language, two months of work in Scotland, four more scheduled climbs, and three different landscapes left to finish."

"You did all that in two years?" asked Alan, shocked.

"Yeah, I had 24 months, more than enough time." Vicki laughed, " 's not like I had to do everything everyday."

"Why does it sound like you have something in common with everyone of us, at least job wise?" asked Virgil.

"I'm your only sister, and when I was five, before I went to England, I decided I was going to be nearly as good as all of you, or even surpass you."

"Big thing for a five year old to decide." said John, finally speaking.

"I didn't care if it was impossible to surpass five brothers at everything they did. However, I did care if I didn't have something in common that I could talk with one of you for hours about."

While they were talking the Tracy boys had divided up their sister's luggage and started taking it to the house.

"So, besides climbing, what do you do that's uniquely yours?" asked Scott, opening the sliding door to the lounge.

"I draw, usually animals, big cats especially. I'm a gymnast, even won a bronze metal, in the Brithish summer games, can you believe." Vicki said, fixing the duffel on her shoulder.

"Cool. . . So," Alan opened a door it the hall, "what do you think of your room?"

Suite of rooms would have been better, but like the boys it was just her 'room'. Her room to paint draw, read, anything she wanted. It was light blue, with black or red accents. there were dozens of shelves lining one wall, a desk, a computer with all the extras, printer, camera, everything. There was a couch, a big chair, and a small table, just like all the other rooms. What set her room apart was there were six huge cushions placed under the shelves, each a different pattern. The balcony doors were wide open, letting in the sun and sea breeze. There were two doors on one side, one, open for now, to her bedroom, the other open to a big private bathroom.

After dropping her duffle on the couch, as the boys put her luggage in her bedroom, Vicki started looking in some of the boxes that lined the shelves.

TBC...

note: yes, I realise she's a bit of a mary-sue, I'm working on fixing it...

Raven


	2. Are you OK with this?

Disclaimer : I do not own Thunderbirds...

Author's note: Still looking for a beta. this chapters a little short.

on with the story...

Gordon toed the door until it was closed. Vicki stood, looking out the window as he and Alan exchanged glances.

"Are you really okay with this?" he asked after a few minutes. Vicki turned from the window and looked at him, her face unreadable.

"I was angry at him for a long time. I once asked Lord Crighton-Ward why I couldn't stay with you guys. He said it was better for me, and easier form dad and you guys too. If I lived with you, he said it would be harder to find a house for us, and I wouldn't have any girls to play with. I didn't believe him when he said there would be times I wouldn't want to be around you. That there would be times I'd want to play with other girls. After a while I began to understand better. Then I wasn't quite so angry. I hadn't been completely cut off from you after all. I still got letters and stuff. When I was 14 he came to my first big gymnastics meet. I didn't know until after, when he told me he was sorry, but he was proud of me. He told me I could move back if I wanted. He said he understood if I didn't want to. All my friends were in England, and I didn't really know you anymore." she trailed off for a minute, shrugging.

"He kept in touch this time though. He usually sent me letters once a week." she giggled.

"The guys that used to want to go out with me usually became uninterested when my friends asked about my dad. Sometimes they kept the guy in the dark for days, but their biggest pleasure, I think, was telling which ever guy it was that Lord Crighton-Ward wasn't my dad, and they never told them who my dad was. Or worse. My friends loved asking about my brothers. They'd never say names, and never how many of you there were. Someone would say my brother - who was pilot. My brother the stargazer, the pianist, the swimmer, the race car driver... They thought they had to deal with one brother... Then they found out I had five!" by the time she finished everyone was laughing.

"Suffice to say, between the possibility of one perfect brother, five overachieving ones, **_and_** not being in line to be 'Lord Crighton-Ward' nearly all the guys dumped me -- for Penny."

"And she knew they were only in it for a shot at the title?" asked John.

"Yep, and dumped them on their butts. I never hated dad. I may not have liked him, but I never hated him. or any of you." she added, at Virgil's look.

"I knew there was nothing you, or grandma, or anyone could have done to change dad's mind."

"Mom could have." said Scott quietly.

"Probably. He never would have had a reason to send me away then, though." Vicki said.

"He couldn't ignore me while I was living here though. I have pictures grandma sent to keep safe. I look far too much like her." An odd expression washed over Alan's face. It was horror, anger, sadness and that Gordon could understand. The sorrow, guilt and pain made no sense to him.

"Y-Y-You-you tried to replace her!" Alan shouted at Vicki. Virgil closed his eyes in pain. John and Scott flinched. Gordon was puzzled.

"Never Alan," Vicki said quietly, shaking her head, "I knew then, and I still know, I never can, never will. I never wanted to."

"Alan," Virgil spoke up, "If we hadn't, if Vicki hadn't, you would have gone too." Now Gordon was really confused.

"The doctors said there was no chance, for her or mom. They didn't try everything. They gave up. Children who are positive the unborn baby sister, that their father knows nothing about, will live can do nothing. To save mom or Alanna." said Scott quietly.

"But you were born, you were there in grandma's arms. You we could help. We could save you. We had to try." said Vicki.

"Dad could've done something!" Alan fairly screamed.

"He wouldn't believe she existed. He said we made her up, so we could have another little sister." said John quietly.

"The doctors thought it best, for dad, if he didn't know." said Scott.

"B-B-B-But... But..." Alan stuttered, sniffling a bit as his sorrow overpowered his anger. Vicki crossed to him and wrapped him in a hug.

"It's ok, it's ok, " she said softly, "I miss her and mom. I've missed you. I'm here for good. I promise." her eyes began to tear up too. Virgil was moving towards them without any thought, he didn't like either twin being in pain. John gravitated towards them as well. He couldn't stand to see any of his family, let alone his little sister and baby brother, in pain. Scott walked toward them too. He wouldn't admit it, but he could use a hug too. Gordon said to himself 'What the hey.' and joined the impromptu hug. They all stood there, hugging and being hugged, for several minutes. The silence was broken after a while by Vicki.

"In answer to your question, Gordon, yes, I am okay with this. I forgave dad a long time ago." The hug broke apart pretty fast then. Everyone found a seat, after all there were several things to discus. Scott, John and Gordon sat on the couch, Vicki and Virgil on the love seat, and Alan in an armchair.

"How'd you find out about the birds?" Alan asked Vicki.

"Wait a minute! would someone clear up who Alanna is first?" asked Gordon.

Author's note: there, One question down, at least two to be answered in the next chapter.


	3. Who's Anna?

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but Vicki and Anna. Don't own Thunderbirds or Batman (and family).

and thank you to all who reviewed.:)

Chapter 3.

"Anna is...was...is.." Alan began quietly.

"Al and Anna are twins." said Scott.

"Alanna was never born. The doctors doubted she was alive when Alan was born. They figured mom was beyond saving as well." said John quietly.

"How'd you know?" asked Gordon. Scott and John looked at Vicki and Virgil. The twins looked at each other and exchanged half smiles.

"It's complicated," began Vicki, "it's sorta a twin thing-"

"- but it's a Wayne thing too." continued Virgil, "It usually only appears in Wayne generations with twins-"

"- no matter how many older children there are before the twins." said Scott joining the fun. Gordon looked shocked.

"You've heard of how some twins are telepathic?" asked John, not missine a beat, "Well in our family-"

"- it's more of a family thing-" said Virgil.

"- that extends back up the original line of twins-" continued Vicki.

"- which in our family means mom's side." finished Alan, after a slight pause, just after Gordon felt a strange tingle in the back of his head.

"Huh?" said a very confused Gordon, absently brushing the back of his head. Vicki grinned.

"You felt it didn't you, a little-"

"- tingle in the back of your brain." finished Alan.

"That's wierd!" exclaimed Gordon.

"What, the finish-"

"-ing each oth-"

"-er's sentences?" tossed Virgil, Vicki and Alan.

"Yes!" exclaimed Gordon, exasperated.

"Gordon, remember how I knew you were hurt, right after your accident?" asked Scott. Gordon nodded.

"That's part of the link thing." said John.

"At its strongest, the link acctually creates a sort of telepathic world that Virgil, Alan and I can access when we're awake." said Vicki. Gordon opened his mouth to say something, but Virgil stopped him before he could ask.

" Non-twins need to have a twin build the bridge first, then it has to be used, maintained regularly or else it will become less comprehensive and will begin to fade."

"Even faded links are good to some extent. Mine aren't much more than feelings, but they help sometimes, especially during rescues and stuff." said Scott. John nodded.

"That's how I know if you guys start panicing, or get worried, or are just generally having problems."

"You're telling me you can read each other's minds, and we have the potential to as well?" asked Gordon, and Vicki grinned.

"Not in the sense of reading each other's thoughts without them knowing about it, nor knowing anything past what they are thinking at the time." said Virgil.

"So you can hear what the other is thinking, and they know you're listening." confermed Gordon. Virgil nodded, and Vicki grinned and began to smile broadly. Gordon was becoming wisibly excited now.

"What else comes with this having twins in the family?"

"The proximity thing, where you can tell who's sneaking up behind you."

"If you've been taught the difference between sneaking up or if they're across the room."

"There's the'way-to-call-your-big-brother-if-someone-tries-to-beat-you-up'." said John, using air quotes.

"Between the two of you, how often did you use that?" asked Alan.

"There was a point where John averaged nearly once a week, and Virgil about once every other when we were little." said Scott.

"Woah!" exclaimed Gordon, a little shocked that his big brothers had been beat up when they were little. Vicki had a sly smile on her face now.

'Gordon.'

"What?" was his automatic answer, looking at her.

'Gordon.' This time it was someone else, and to Gordon it sounded like Virgil. But that wasn't right, Virgil hadn't said anything. Gordon was puzzled, and it showed.

'Hi Gordon.' now that was Alan, definatly, without a doubt. But he hadn't said anything either.

'Welcome to the world of twalepathy.' that was Vicki, he was sure of it, but she hadn't spoken. But there they were, all of them standing in front of him, huge grins on their faces, and yet they sat, relaxed, around him.


	4. Birds and ghosts or are they?

Sorry to all my readers who have been patiently waiting for ch4 of Virgil's twin. it's nearly done, I promise, but exams may mess up when I get a chance to post it.

still don't own them.

ch4

They played in the twalepathic world for a while, and then Gordon noticed Alan was gone, at least from where they were, not actually the room.

"All right, I've gotta know." Alan said. That was enough to jolt the others out. Vicki reached out to Scott and John and helped pull them out. Virgil quickly showed Gordon how to get out.

"Know what?" Vicki asked, stretching. Between Alan's excitement about Vicki, his newfound twalepathic playground and exasperation that he wanted answers, Alan was nearly bouncing in his seat.

"How you knew about the 'Birds before we did."

"I didn't actually know about the 'Birds first." She admitted.

"Dad came to me and asked if I could draw the blueprints for the island house. He had a million and one specific specifications he wanted added too. I knew he was up to something interesting."

"What do you mean?" asked Gordon, sprawling on his part of the couch.

"The only person I know who has as much space, security and technology as this place is Uncle Bruce. That was one of my first clues." The looks on there faces were ones of understanding. Their Uncle Bruce's pet project was nearly as interesting and almost more dangerous than theirs.

"Anyway, I came back after the house was built. I wanted a chance to see what it looked like while I had the chance. It was during a break I had that May, and no one was really here. Dad was on business somewhere, but Brains had let me in." she grinned.

"Yeah, I know no one was supposed to be here, but I had special permission from Dad. We both knew that if I visited once you were here, I wouldn't be leaving." She shrugged.

"I got curious and ended up finding the lab. Brains must have finally gone to eat or something, because he wasn't there. But a binder full of stuff was open on his desk. There were drawings and specs and stuff all over. I couldn't resist looking. I know I was probably last to actually find out about them, because there was a sheet of paper that had a list of the 'Birds, what color they would be, and who would pilot them. Some of your names had checkmarks beside them. After a while I left and went back to England. I did the picture and sent it to Dad as a sort of moving in gift. They sat together in comfortable silence for a while.

"You know, this feels right. Usually silences are missing something, but this one isn't." Gordon said quietly. Everyone else nodded. Vicki glanced around at her brothers, then did a double-take when she saw Alan. He had an interesting expression on his face.

"We're whole." He said simply. Scott opened one eye, but remained totally relaxed.

"That's deep, Al, what makes you say that?" he asked. Alan looked at John, then the twins, then back at Scott.

"I would have thought you'd feel her by now Scott. You must really be out of practice."

"Here we are," Vicki began gently, "all seven Tracy children."

"There are only six of us." said Gordon.

"Are there?" John asked, smiling gently.

"Seven kids. Two older, then twins, a little and two babies." said Virgil.

"Five boys, two girls." Said Vicki as she stepped into his head and showed him what she could see. Scott, John and he were on the couch, Virgil next to her and Alan in the chair. Same thing he saw. What changed it was the figure of a fairly tall (but shorter then Alan) young woman, with long blond hair, who looked like Alan. She looked incredibly happy.

Gordon was astounded. A few minutes later John sighed gently and everyone looked at him. He looked completely content and relaxed. The reason, Gordon saw with his new viewpoint, was the woman standing behind him. She looked like a lot like Vicki, but her hair was wavier. She was looking at them and smiling.

"I'm proud of you, all of you. I love you all. Be careful, Anna and I can only do so much to help you, or to save you. We have before," she looked at Gordon, "and we always will."

Gordon blinked and found that not only had the two women disappeared, he seemed to have fallen asleep at some point. Looking around he knew the same was true for the others.

"They aren't ever really gone." said Scott.

"Nope." Alan shook his head.

TBC...

Well, what did you think? sorry again for the lateness.

- Raven


	5. brits and blankets

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but Vicki and Liz. Don't own Thunderbirds. Don't own Spider Robinson. don't own Indiana Jones theme or Indiana Jones. Any resemblance between my characters and real people is purely coincidental. Don't own Jelly Bellies either.

chapter 5

Somewhere deep inside Vicki's duffle bag her phone started ringing. Everyone looked at it for a few seconds, before Vicki reached out and pulled the bag off the couch towards her. She unzipped it and rummaged around, looking for her phone. She tossed a sketch pad, a huge box of crayons, two books by a Canadian author named Spider Robinson (Who named their kid Spider anyway:) ), an MP3 player and a photo album that fell open and was full of family photos into a pile at her feet. As her phone came to the end of the ring tone, what the boys could now identify as the old Indiana Jones theme, she plucked it from the bag and hit the talk button.

"Hey Liz. What's new honey?" It was so strange to see her, sitting there, looking relaxed and calm, and hear her, speaking with an upper class bit of a lilt, more refined and ladylike then they had heard her yet. There were several minutes during which she said little, then whom ever was on the other end must have asked her what she had been doing, because her face brightened.

"I'm home." she finally declared.

"No silly, home, home. Do you want to meet my brothers?"

"OK, give me a minute." She went over and plugged her cell phone into the bigger screen of the vid-phone on the desk, waving the boys over to stand behind her as she sat in the desk chair. When the boys were around her she began.

"You know I have five brothers, right." she said.

"Yes, one's a pilot, one's an author, one's a pianist, one's a swimmer, one's a race car driver." said a very british voice that wasn't quite as refined as Lady P's.

"Right." Vicki said, pushing the button that turned on the vid-screen. It revealed a blond woman with a round face and ice blue-grey eyes. She was sort of pretty, but not gorgeous, or even really intelligent looking. Her jaw dropped when she saw them.

"Liz, meet my brothers, Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan." she pointed them out to her.

"Guys, meet Elizabeth Woodrow. She was my room mate at school two years ago." Liz's chin was still (figuratively) on the floor.

"Close your mouth or someone will put a jelly belly in it." Vicki said gently. Liz's mouth snapped closed and she found her voice again.

"Your- Your- You are a Tracy!" she said, shocked.

"Yes." said Vicki calmly.

"That's the secret you wouldn't tell anyone!" Liz exclaimed.

"I'm surprised no one figured it out. I mean how many American business men have five sons?" said Vicki.

"I never really thought about that." admitted Liz. A muffled call came through the vid-screen.

"Oh, that is Aunt Isabelle, I have to go Vicki."

"That's okay. How about I call you later?" she asked.

"That will be fine." said Liz.

"Ta ta." she finished before hanging up. Vicki began laughing.

"I thought she was going to fall over from shock when she figured it out." she said before dissolving into helpless laughter. The boys were laughing now too.

After a while they all calmed down and went back over to sit where they had been before. Virgil snagged the sketch book from the pile on the floor, sat down and began looking through it. Gordon picked up the photo album and began looking through it. John, then Scott and Alan soon joined him. They came across a picture that had them a bit puzzled, then Scott saw Fisie.

"It's Fisie." he declared, pointing at the orange plastic fish in the two year old Gordon's hand. John grinned.

"You couldn't go anywhere without him." John told his little brother.

"I don't remember what happened to him, or Alan's star blanket. Or for that matter my first watercolor family portrait." said Virgil.

"They are with John's first hand drawn map of the stars and my model of us in our old tree house." said Scott, smiling a bit. Vicki stood up and went to the other room, coming back with an old beat up suitcase that hadn't quite matched the rest of the set. She put it on the floor in between them all, unzipped it and opened it to reveal the missing treasures, some old photo albums and a general assortment of stuff.

"They went to England with Vicki." said Scott.

"and a whole bunch of mom's stuff that Grandma saved from Dad's purge of the house." she said, starting to empty the suitcase. She pulled out some of the albums and passed them around. There was an album full of wedding pictures, one of each of them (except Alan) with their mother, doing all sorts of things, and there was one with Alan and their mother in the front and mostly group photos, or with Alan and one of the twins. They had fun looking at the momentos too. Things like angles with 'Lucille' printed on them, a little set of Russian dolls (the ones that sit in each other) that she had made and painted, key chains, magnets and other little stuff. A pair of dress boxes, one with Lucy's prom dress, the other her wedding dress. In the bottom were paintings. Of their father, their backyard, a family portrait with all but Alan she had done, and there was a four year olds painting of airplanes. Vicki grinned as she pulled it out and showed it to them.

It wasn't really good, but five different shapes in different colors were obvious. A lilac donut like splotch, an orange-yellow squareish splotch with extra bits sticking out, a tall red triangle shape, a green ovally shape with two triangles for backwards wings, and a blue line that was pointed at one end and square at the other. There was also a signature. Big childish crayon writing that said 'VIRGIL'. With the painting was a letter written by Grandma.

'Dear Vicki,' it read, 'Your brother doesn't want you to forget him and the others. He made you this picture. Each plane is a different person. He says you know who they are. Never forget we love you. Grandma and the boys.' She passed around the letter before anyone could start laughing. The older three boys read the letter as Gordon and Alan tried to figure out what the picture was. Once they had read the letter Alan and Gordon knew why the picture was almost familiar. They were also doubled over in laughter. Everyone else was grinning.

"I had the picture on my wall for a long time. During school it was in my dorm. Vacation it came with me almost everywhere I stayed. Once the Thunderbirds appeared I had to keep it in my rooms at the mansion." she said.

"Swept back green wings are a very distinctive feature aren't they." said Virgil.

"We should get Dad to put it in his office." said Scott seriously.

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Gordon. He and Alan took the letter and the painting and left. The four siblings got up and followed to watch.


	6. office work

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but Vicki and Liz. Any resemblance between my characters and real people is purely coincidental. Don't own Thunderbirds.

Chapter 6

Jeff Tracy sat at his office desk, working on TE paperwork that normally piled up during 'other' work. He heard his office door open quietly and several pairs of feet walk in. He heard them settle and then he looked up at them. There stood his six children, all of whom he was proud of. Gordon and Alan held a canvas between them, and seemed to be quietly arguing about something. Without a glance between them, the other four stepped towards the pair. Scott and John reached out and tugged at the quarreling pair. They separated and both dropped the canvas. The twins, however, had placed themselves in just a position to each grab an end of the canvas. They stepped forward and flipped it so the painting was facing him.

His jaw fell open about the same time his pen fell from his hand.

"I thought that painting was accidentally trashed along with some of your mother's stuff." he said.

"Sure, but much like your wedding album, minus a picture of course, it was rescued." said Vicki. Alan handed his father the letter. Jeff read it quickly and then smiled.

"I take it Grandma liberated a bunch of other things as well?" he asked.

"Of course. Now, as present owner," Vicki began.

"And original artist of this painting," Virgil continued.

"We have decided that it should go to you."

"To sit in your office." said Scott.

"And be declared a child's painting." said John.

"When Questioned." added Gordon, finally getting the hang of the twalepathy thing.

"And otherwise be an inside joke." finished Alan.

Jeff looked at them, smiling. Finally he said,

"Your mom and her brother used to talk like that. She started you two" he looked at Scott and John, "on it when the twins were born. Come to think of it, it infuriated your babysitter a lot that she would ask one of you something and the other, or both of you would answer, sometimes in sync." Now he frowned and looked at his oldest sons.

"You can do it on your own, can't you? Or you could." he said.

"That's how Scott finally began to understand astronomy isn't it. And John did better in English when he realized he'd done something wrong." he said.

"It wasn't cheating dad." said Scott.

"We helped each other with homework. We could _show_ each other where we messed up and why." said John.

"I never understood why stars were classed differently. The pictures they had confused me, until John showed me the differences."

"We learned from each other, helped each other. We never cheated."

"You taught us to be proud, but not so much that we couldn't ask for help." said Scott.

"To be good, and not to cheat." said Gordon.

"To be honorable." said John.

"And kind, nice and friendly." said Virgil.

"To be ourselves." said Alan.

"And be proud of who we are." said Vicki.

"And if we cheated and you found out, we would have been in trouble." said Scott.

"And you would be disappointed." added John.

"Disappointed parents are worse than angry ones." said Scott. Jeff nodded in understanding.

"Now we need to decide which office should we put this in? How about the Manhattan office?" he asked.

"It does get used most often." said Scott nodding.

"And imagine the shock factor if Virge and Vicki take it." said Gordon.

"The poor secretaries!" exclaimed Alan, "They only sort of know what mom looks like, and Vicki looks like mom AND Virge."

"Do you mind Vicki?" Jeff asked his daughter.

"No, it should be fun."

"Good, then let me finish the paperwork and arrange a few things and you can leave tomorrow. Oh, and you know you missed lunch." he added. The six of them looked a bit surprised, then nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, and just so we're clear." said Jeff. They turned around.

"I'm proud of all of you, even if I don't always say it, or I get angry and say otherwise, OK." They smiled and nodded before turning and leaving Jeff with his stack of paperwork.

TBC...

A/N: Well, what do you think? 10 reviews gets the next chapter. (and yes, I have it written.) ;)

-Raven.


	7. crazy conventions

Disclaimer: still don't own it, or daredevil or Batman or superman.

AN: I would like to say Happy Holidays to everyone, and that's the only reason you get this chapter :D I'm still waiting for more reviews to post the next chapter. If you have something you think they should do in Manhattan, tell me and I'll see if I can write something. -Raven

Chapter 7 A Crazy Convention

There was so much paper work that it wasn't until lunchtime two days later that it was all done. No one minded as it gave them more time together and Vicki a little more time to get settled in and all the necessary changes that had to occur with her returning to the world as 'Victoria Tracy' instead of 'Victoria Crighton-Ward' which is what all her ID said. (So that she wasn't THAT important to the world and no one accidentally found her secret.) She had finished most of the required paperwork the first morning and had put it in and envelopes and sent it to where it had to go, whether in England or the States. Then she was taught the basics for the 'Birds, winch controls and how to use the extra 'little' equipment mostly. They did other things too, like playing 3 on 3 water volleyball and trying to swipe Grandma's cookies, and watching movies together.

The twins, dressed similarly in slacks and TE shirts, were ready with everything by 1:30 and left soon after, after Vicki had a little discussion with Alan about her promise (which would be upheld, she would **always** come back.)

They flew to Manhattan, entertained by conversation and stories (and even a few joined flashbacks (twalepathic perk)) about nearly everything. They got to their hotel, checked in and discovered something very interesting.

"Why is it so busy in here?" Virgil asked the desk clerk.

"Well sir, we are currently hosting the second annual Thunderbirds convention. We have everyone from inventor and designers to toy and tee-shirt vendors. They are in the ballroom if you wish to see them." He said.

"Thank you." said Virgil, turning away.

"Let's go if we have time after our meeting with the lawyer. What's his name,

Michael?" Vicki said as they crossed to the elevator.

"Matthew, Matt Murdoc's one of dads old friends from college, He's one of the best lawyers in the city." They got into the penthouse elevator. 'He's out logistics lawyer for the 'birds. Makes sure we don't step on too many toes. I think we're one of his few paying customers. He's retained for us too.' Few, or more likely, no one, was about to eavesdrop on _that_. Twalapathy was great for keeping secrets.

They got to the penthouse and, once their luggage arrived, they decided what to do next.

"Would you believe it's supper time?" asked Vicki, standing in the doorway to her brothers room.

"Why, are you hungry?" Virgil asked, putting his still full suitcase in the closet.

"No, but I was wondering when the convention closed."

"Call down and ask while I get changed," He said, unzipping his suitcase. Vicki turned and left.

'All ready did. It's open 'till nine," she said twalapathically. Virgil shook his head and got changed.

When he came out of his room he found Vicki lounging on the couch with a newspaper, one of the several that their father had delivered daily when they were there. The headline on the front page of the paper she was reading was "Do what you dare, the devil is watching."

Underneath was the sub headline 'Accounts of the mysterious DareDevil grow in numbers, but the police do not acknowledge the vigilante's existence."

"Anything interesting?" Virgil asked.

"Not really, but this guy's got as much press as Batman does in Gotham, or Superman in Metropolis. Some of it's good, some bad. Whoever he is, he has an interesting nightlife." She said, folding up the paper.

'Matt,' her brother said, walking towards the door. She raised on eyebrow and grabbed her purse.

'The lawyer? I thought you said he was blind.'

'He is, just wait till you meet him.'

"What do you think this thing will be like?" asked Vicki as she pushed the elevator call button.

"Interesting, honky, crazy, amazing, insane…"

"In other words, you have no idea. But it will be fun." She said, smiling.

"Yep," he said, as the elevator finally showed up and they got in.

They got out of the elevator in the lobby wearing designer sunglasses. In jeans and loose t-shirts, they looked uncannily like the two professionals that had exited the elevator only a half hour ago. Vicki, however, managed t ruin this effect by having her hair up in a loose ponytail, instead of a tight braid, by wearing bright pink sunglasses and a light zippered sweater over her t-shirt. Virgil, however, had on gray sunglasses and a darker t-shirt that was about two sizes too big for him.

The desk clerk had seen the twins enter and exit the elevator. He knew they were the Tracy twins in disguise. All the staff knew that they were Jeff Tracy's twins, his daughter having returned recently, but as Mr. Tracy and his children valued their privacy, and paid the hotel very well, no one would ever dare tell anyone that they were at the hotel. This particular hotel was the _best_ hotel in town and never leaked information on their tenants. For a very high price, that is.

They walked across the lobby and into the ballroom. The other guests ignored them completely. The ballroom doors were wide open, letting people see the decorations inside that invited them in. Whoever had decorated had done pretty well. The big green leviathan that hung from the ceiling in front of the entrance was no where near as sleek as the real one, it having no real wings. That earned a grin from both of the twins as they stood under it and looked around the ballroom.

'Divide and conquer?' asked Virgil as he surveyed the rest of the ballroom. Virgil went left and Vicki took right, both of them circling the room. They soon

discovered there was no order to the mess. Toy salesmen and t-shirt booths were mixed in with all sorts of inventors and scientists. Though no one actually had anything close some (unbelievably) had a few things they didn't have.

'Do we have 'personal water to air converters'?'' Vicki asked.

'Say what?' He asked from across the room as he picked up a miniature Thunderbird 2 and studied it.

'It's a little thing that turns water into air. According to this guy you pop it

between your lips and dive right into the water. You breathe through your mouth and it splits the elements and releases the unused elements back into the water.' She was watching as the vendor demonstrated. He put the device between his lips and dunked his head into a 10 gallon tank of water and started breathing.

'Interesting. See if it's a dud.' She could feel him roll his eyes. 'Half the stuff

I've seen is and the other half is dangerous.' She smiled as he mentally turned away to continue his exploration.

"That's neat. Can I see how it works?" she asked the vendor, who tried to show her a disassembled converter on display. She'd already looked over the piece and found nothing wrong with it, though it could be a dud. She smiled a bit more, trying the ever useful Tracy charm.

"That one, I've seen. While I doubt anyone would question the integrity of someone like you, who sells them to the Thunderbirds, I would like to see the inside of the one you used." She said.

The vender relented and opened the casing of the one he had used a few minutes before to breathe in the water tank.

'Seems fine to me. Should I get one?' she asked her brother as she thanked the man.

'Yeah, but don't use a card. we are anonymous.'

''K.' she turned and asked the vendor how much they were.

"Well normally they run about a thousand dollars each." he said. Half the crowd promptly wandered off. "Today, for a short time only I'll sell you one for 350 dollars, same as the Thunderbirds get them for." he said.

'Worth it?'

'He's actually mostly honest, it would cost a thousand dollars to mass produce one. Yeah, get one and I'll talk to him when I get a chance.'

'K.' She had left the room with about 400 in cash distributed around in her pockets and purse. There was even 20 in her sock. She pulled six 50's from her wallet and two 20's and a 10 from her pocket and handed it to him as he handed her one from the box behind him. She snagged a card and put both in her purse before thanking the man and walking away.

Since they had entered the room they had both been sending and receiving mental snorts of laughter and pics of what made them laugh, but Virgil saw now made him laugh out loud,

'Hmmm?' asked his sister looking at , of all things, Thunderbird shaped(ish) decorative dishes.

'I'm so getting these' he said, walking up to the table and sending her a picture of what they were.

It was in fact a display of t-shirts. They each had something different written on them. There were ones for the thunderbird pilots, one that said 'The Boss' and others with things like 'The Brains', 'Medic', 'Backup', and 'Secret Agent'.

"Just how many different 'extras' do you have?" he asked the vendor.

"Just the ones you see here. But they do come in different colors." She said, a little tired as if she'd had the same question all day and waved to a lighter color on display.

"They're twenty dollars each and come in small to XXL." She didn't really thing this guy was worth her time. It's not as if he was going to buy any.

'Penny's a medium, want to get me a large?' Said his sister's voice in the back of his mind.

"Can I get six XL ones? A 'Boss' one with black letters, a One Pilot one with blue letters, a Two Pilot one with orange and a Five Pilot one with Gray letter. And I need a large Brains one in blue, a Large Buck up one in Green, A Medium secret Agent in pink and a Medium 'Medic' in Red." The Vendors eyes widened and she dived into the boxes, looking for the requested shirts as he pulled money from his pocket. A few minutes later, he left the table $200 lighter and ten neatly folded t-shirts heavier.

'That's awesome' said Vicki, deciding to come back later and buy the plate set.

Things continued until they reached the far end of the room, where the evenings final presentation by an inventor and a clothing designer was being held.

"I swear to you people that this material is nearly indestructible. Drag it through mud and all it needs is a wash. It doesn't rip, tear, fray, or wear. It's comfortable, too." He said as he used a knife to stab the middle of the material. An audience member raised their hand and the presenter nodded to her.

"How do you turn it into something someone can wear then?"

"We get the measurements ad they are woven into the overalls of the correct size." He answered. Several eyebrows lifted in the crowd and some people actually left.

"You don't believe me? You, miss, could you come show these people I speak the truth?" He asked, pointing at Vicki. She nodded and walked up to the stage. She had expected something like this to happen. She had added gum and changed the way she walked, creating the image of a bimbo. She reached the stage and once she'd gotten onto it she took the knife the professor offered her and tested it against her thumb. the presenter ws sweating. she had walked up to the presentation, the world's dumbest bimbo, but in the last 20 feet or so of her walk to the stage she had shown that not only was she not a bimbo, but in fact some sort of intelligent, independent, trained woman. There was a gasp as Vicki tossed the knife over her shoulder onto the ballroom floor where it slid a few feet to where Virgil had just stopped. He picked it up, tested it, them put the blade to the palm of his hand and pushed. Nothing happened. The shocked audience turned back to the stage where Vicki stood waiting, a knife in her hand. She used it to cut an orange in her other hand, then reversed her grip on the handle and plunged the knife into the material held by two assistants. It stabbed through the material and then she dropped the knife, took the material, put her hands in the hole and pulled. The material gave and ripped in two pieces, which she handed back to the inventor.

"Don't false advertise like that again, or drag the Thunderbirds through the mud with you. They wouldn't use THAT for a cleaning rag." she said to him fiercely. then she went down the stage steps and met her brother.

"That was kind of mean you know." he said.

"Yeah, but there's only so much exaggerating one is allowed to do and he just went WAY over the edge. They can say things like 'we've sold some to the Thunderbirds' but that guy was WAY too overconfident and way over the acceptable level of exaggerating. I could hear that guy 50 feet from the stage, wen he was on it, and before that he was bugging some of the vendors, calling them liars and frauds and all sorts of things." she said, buying a bottle of water. She sat down and poured some water into a balloon before Virgil noticed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Testing" she said, pulling the 'personal breathing thingy' from her purse. She put the balloon on the 'water' side of the breather and turned the whole thing over. a woosh escaped the breather and something remained in the balloon. She peeled the breather off, careful not to let too much gas escape from the balloon and held it tightly closed. She flicked her wrist a bit, but no sound came from the balloon.

"Guess this one works too." she said, putting the breather back in her purse and tossing the balloon in a nearby trash can. She sipped some water then put the lid on the bottle as they stood up and went down the middle aisle of displays. By the time they were done it was nine o'clock and everyone was leaving the room. Several vendors came up to them and thanked Vicki for what she had done.

"That man has been obnoxious for the last two days, saying all sorts of things about how he knows the Thunderbirds and the rest of us are fake pretenders. Would you accept a set of my dishes as a token of our gratitude?" the woman who had noticed Vicki admiring her plates asked.

"Thank you, no. I only did what was right. I'm sure someone else would have done the same eventually." said Vicki.

"Well, all right, but the offer stands. We are all here until the end of the week, if you change your mind." said the woman smiling. They reached the elevators and the woman walked away.

"She may have other ideas as to how to get you to have that set." warned Virgil as she stood next to him and the doors closed. Boy, was he right. The woman waited until the doors were safely closed, then she went to talk to the desk clerk.

Here's chapter seven, and now I'm reminding you to hit the little button and review please. Happy Holidays

-Raven Artemis


	8. At The Office

Author's Notes: Ok, someone finally reviewed (so say thanks to hardyboyfansrock), so here's chapter 8. I don't have a beta yet, so it's kinda rough, and if you're interested in Beta-ing, IM me.

Remember: "speech" and 'telepathy'.

Disclaimer: Still don't own, or there'd be a second (better) live action movie. :D Also don't own Daredevil.

Chapter 8: At The Office

They had gone up to the suite and requested room service bring up supper. They had eaten and gone to bed by 11:00 that night.

Vicki was up at 6:00, without her alarm. She got dressed in sweats and gone down to the gym for a while. When she got back upstairs she gently mentally prodded her brother a bit. He wasn't awake yet, so she continued her morning routine. by 7:30 she was nearly ready to go down for breakfast and Virgil was in the shower, trying to wake up. Once he was ready they both went downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast.

"What are we doing today?" Vicki asked as Virgil gulped his first cup of coffee ( god, he loved in-suite coffee makers!)

"Going to the office and waking up the secretaries." he said, grinning.

"Then we'll get the last little bit of your paperwork sorted, we'll deal with this," he tapped his briefcase that had the painting in it, "then we meet Matt at ten."

"Right." said Vicki as they left the elevator and headed towards the restaurant.

Once they had eaten, Virgil had sent for a car. Very soon they were sitting in the back of a roomy black car on their way to the TE building seven blocks away.

'How are we going to play this?' asked Vicki.

'We'll take the long way up. It's basically the normal way, but there's more hallway between things like elevators or doors and secretaries desks.' Virgil said, stretching his legs.

They were dropped off at the main doors. Standing shoulder to shoulder they walked in the main doors. The main foyer was large and airy. A reception desk sat in the middle, as people in business suits went to and fro, beginning their day of work. The receptionist saw them enter, then called up to the personal Tracy secretary, sneaking furtive glances at them as they crossed to the elevators, all the while wondering if that woman who walked in was Lucy or some Tracy sister, or if she was a girlfriend or fiancee, or (even better) if Virgil had married her.

Once the pair was safely in the elevator and the doors had closed whispers sprang up amongst the people as to who the woman with the boss' son was. Some had seen a dainty silver ring on her right middle finger and figured she was a girlfriend. Some of the oldest people, people who had been a part of TE since it started, knew and pointed out that it was Lucy's ring, but that couldn't possibly be **Lucy**, she was dead. Jeff didn't have a daughter, so either it was Lucy (or her ghost, or they were crazy) or a girlfriend. Before the elevator had reached the Tracy office it was decided that she was a girlfriend (because they weren't crazy or seeing ghosts). The secretary at the Tracy's outer office hung up her phone seconds before the elevator chimed and the doors opened, revealing Virgil Tracy and his girlfriend. They stepped out and she immediately changed her mind. She'd seen picture's of Mister Tracy's late wife, had even met her once, long ago at a business party. 'This woman is Lucille Tracy, no doubt.' The secretary thought as they strode down the hall. 'No other explanation, and I'm not crazy, the yearly psych. evaluation. proved that, and she's too solid to be a ghost.'

"Cheryl," Virgil's voice broke through her thoughts and she stood up, smiling.

"I'd like you to meet my sister, Victoria Tracy. Vicki, this is Cheryl Thinner, she's been Dad's secretary since the beginning."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss. Tracy." said Cheryl shaking her hand.

"Please, call me Vicki, Miss. Tracy's so formal." Vicki said, smiling.

"Of course." said Cheryl , smiling.

"We have some paperwork to finish before Matt shows up. Excuse us." said Virgil.

"Of course, would you like coffee?" Cheryl asked, knowing the Tracy men couldn't work without coffee.

"Yes, please." said Virgil, crossing to the inner office door.

"Would you like anything Miss. Vicki?" Cheryl asked.

"A cup of mint tea, one sugar, please." she answered, following her brother, a hint of a smile on her lips.

Once the office door was closed Cheryl turned and nearly ran to the elevator, which she took to the executive floor and went to the coffee room, where several other secretaries were preparing coffees for their bosses. As she made the drinks she had a hurried gossip session with the others before taking them upstairs.

The office was big and airy, two walls of windows looking out over a large park and shorter neighboring skyscrapers. Maple paneling covered the lower half of the other two walls, the upper half having been painted a cream colour. There were pictures and awards and the door on one wall. the other held nothing more than a calming oil painting of a waterfall. The desk, also maple, sat in the corner between the two windows so that you could face one way and see the city or you could turn and look at the park. (if you even had time to look out the windows) A small side table (also maple) sat in the corner where the view of the park met the wall with the waterfall picture on it. On the table was a crystal pitcher full of water and three glasses. Two comfortable-ish looking chairs sat in front of the desk. The desk itself had two flat monitors, a blotter, a keyboard and mouse, a silver pen holder full of pens and pencils and a crystal paperweight in the shape of an airplane on it.

Virgil motioned for his sister to sit at the desk and she did so, giving the big chair a slight push to spin it to look out the windows for a moment. She spun back to face the desk and found Virgil had already emptied some of the many papers that had been sent with them onto it. She explored the desk drawers for a moment while he finished fiddling with the papers. he handed her a few and while she began filling them out he put most of the other papers in the out tray. Soon Cheryl came back with the drinks and a stack of mail, all of which she placed on the desk.

"Thank you." said Vicki, looking up and smiling before returning to the paperwork.

"Thanks Cheryl. Could you ask someone to bring a hammer and nail up please, we have a new picture to add to the wall." said Virgil, sipping his coffee.

"Sure Mr. Virgil." she said as she removed the contents of of the out tray and then left.

Ten minutes later, just as Vicki finished the last of the paperwork, a janitor came in with a hammer and nail to put up the picture.

"You requested someone to hang a picture sir?" asked the janitor, whose name tag read Jerry.

"Yes, over here." Virgil said, pointing to the wall that held the waterfall painting. Jerry looked a bit dubious, but followed Virgil's instructions as to where the nail to hang the picture should go. Once the job was done Virgil dismissed Jerry then pulled the painting from the briefcase. Vicki got up from the desk and together they took the painting and placed it on the nail. Then they stepped back and admired it for a moment. Virgil suddenly grabbed a pen from the desk and wrote 'hung on' and the date under grandma's neat printing of the day it was painted. (which was under Virgil's name).

"There, perfect." he said, putting the pen away.

author's notes: OK, ch8's done, but I have no clue how to start ch9 (where they actually meet Matt) any suggestions are welcome. Sorry it took so long to update, but I thought this story got lost in the bottom of the fic pile. hopefully ch 9'll be up soon(ish)

-Raven


	9. Names

A/N: Sorry this chapter's been so long in coming. I usually end up with a monster case of writer's block halfway through any story. Which sucks. I also feel I should point out, this story has no place to really end yet, it kinda writes itself... Just a bit of a warning.

Also, I just went back and reread all my reviews. Thanks for all the good suggestions. I also discovered Cathrl asked Who's in Thunderbird 5. Good question, Brains is. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds. or anyone else obviously recognizable. All I own is Vicki, an idea, a computer and a desk.

remember " talking" 'telepathy'

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you really sure this is the way you want it to be?" asked Virgil, again. Vicki gave him a look.

"Just because you think your idea's funny and better, doesn't mean I'm keeping it." she said.

They were talking, of course, about what to do with her name. As a child she'd had one name that had subtly been changed over the years. Living with the Creighton-Ward's for so long, they'd decided to hide her true nature from everyone (and her father, still in grief and wanting little to do with her just then had agreed) it had been decided that not only was Lord Creighton-Ward her legal guardian, but that her name should be changed as well. Thus she had become 'Victoria Grace Creighton-Ward'. Sometimes, especially as she got older, she would spend her summers at her uncle's. There she was known to most as 'Victoria Grace Wayne', even though that wasn't legally her name, no one ever seemed to call her anything else. The media especially loved it, as her uncle was a well known public figure. Naturally Virgil had suggested they put them all together.

"Honestly, Victoria Grace Wayne Creighton-Ward Tracy's an insanely long name." she continued.

"And the one you've chosen isn't?" Virgil asked, a bit amused.

"Actually," she revealed, "I didn't chose it. Mum wrote Uncle Bruce, saying that she knew what he was planning. She also said that since his... idea had little chance of time for a relationship, not only could he treat her children as his if he wanted, but all her daughters would be given the name Wayne, so at least it wouldn't die. I wasn't told about it for the longest while. They had it knocked off when they changed my name and everything. I had to ask Uncle Bruce why the media called me Victoria Wayne. That's when he showed me the letter. He figured if I could ask, I could know the truth." she said, looking at him.

"Anna too?" he asked, interested.

"Anna too." she confirmed, nodding.

"So before I go, just to make sure. 'Victoria Grace Wayne Tracy' is what you want Vicki?" asked Matt Murdoc, the lawyer who'd sat patiently as they had discussed all her options. With a name like Tracy, and all the other name's she'd had, legally or not, there had been lots of options open for discussion.

"Yes please Matt." Vicki said, smiling.

She knew he'd purposely waited until after the conversation. She had felt that he wouldn't mind much if they got slightly off topic during the conversation. They had a few times, and he hadn't seemed to mind, so she had again. Now they both understood her motives and why she wanted it that way. She also knew, somehow, that Matt could be trusted. Not just as a lawyer trusted either. She'd met him, and known just by the way he walked that he wasn't a helpless blind. He moved too fluidly. Like a dancer, or a gymnast or a martial artist. Gracefully. Not that blind people couldn't or wouldn't need to be at least a bit more coordinated than most people, but watching him cross the large office had been interesting. Her summers with her uncle had taught her things she never would have learned in England, and one of those things was that you could tell a lot about someone just by the way they moved or walked. Matt Murdoc was a bit of a mystery. She wouldn't spend time obssesing or even much time wondering about it. But it somehow had made her trust him just a bit more.

"All right, I'll see what I can do. That's all I will need for now." Matt said, standing. Vicki and Virgil both stood and shook his hand.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Matt." Vicki said, smiling.

"The pleasure was mine Vicki." he said, before turning to Virgil.

"It was good to see you again Matt." Virgil said. Matt chuckled.

"It always is. Don't forget to tell the others I said 'Hi'." Matt reminded him.

"I won't." Virgil promised as Matt left the office. Virgil turned to Vicki.

"So what did you think?" he asked.

"He's a good lawyer. He definitely knows how to look out for himself. The way he moves." she answered his unspoken question.

"He isn't overly involved as anything but a lawyer is he..."she trailed off, looking for the right words.

"Involved in Dad's project? No. Not exactly. Not like Penny" Virgil answered, knowing what she meant, but couldn't find exactly the words for. Vicki gave him a look.

"How can anyone be not exactly involved in the project?" she asked.

"By knowing that there are things in both our world and his that must be kept in total silence. Well, that and Dad did offer, but Matt turned him down. He has no problem with Dad asking him advice about the project, or giving advice. He has no problem helping with some of TE's legal work, or stuff like this. But he's not obligated to do anything for either. Some of the projects people have business agreements with Dad through the project, and some of them are paid by the project. I think they all may be, actually, but not the same way." Virgil said, thinking about it a bit.

"Ah." said Vicki, understanding. She would have asked another question, but just then Cheryl buzzed the intercom.

"There's someone here to see you both." her disembodied voice said.

"He claims you know him. A Mr. Wayne?" she asked. They both smiled.

'Uncle Bruce?' Vicki asked.

'Yep, I had Dad call him and see if he wanted to go for lunch.' Virgil smiled.

"Send him in please Cheryl." Virgil answered.

The door opened and a tall man walked in, dressed in a business suite. The twins were frozen as the man turned and locked the door behind him.

The man was Not their Uncle Bruce.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Who is this new person in the office? why are the twins frozen? does the secretary not know their uncle? Take a guess. or two or three! Or just tell me what you think. And yes, unlike last time, chapter 10 is on it's way... or maybe I'll keep it untill I get 5 more reviews... hmmmmm I'll have to think about that.

-Raven


	10. What Happened in the Office

A/N: I was cleaning my computer last week and found this. I meant to post it yesterday for halloween, but I forgot. Hope you forgive me. Here's the next chapter, enjoy.

To make it clear, anything they say aloud is in quotes ""

Anything thoughts and actions they share with each other are _italicised_.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anyone but Vicki.

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Chapter 10

This man was Not their uncle Bruce.

He turned and faced them, an evil smile spreading across his face as he noted their fear.

"Not the Tracy I was hoping for, but you will do." The man said, walking slowly towards them.

"How did you get here?" demanded Virgil, pretending not to be afraid. He was unfortunately unsuccessful.

"You ruined my plan. It was going to toss the world into chaos. You and your family ruined it." The man stopped in the middle of the room, between them and the door. There was nowhere for them to go.

"Since you ruined it so completely, I've had to devise a new plan." He continued.

"You are supposed to be in jail." said Virgil, trying to ignore the possibilities for this new plan.

"I'm going to ruin your family."

"Not likely" said Vicki with a snort.

"Snorting is not very lady like Miss...?" was the reply.

"Does it really matter who I am if you plan to kill us both anyway?" asked Vicki, while at the same time sending Virgil a quick message.

_'We have to stall him. Back up's on the way.'_

'_Will try.' _was the reply.

"Now, now. That's not true at all. You could easily survive this meeting. I'm sure that whichever of the rich and important families you belong to will finance my operation in order to ensure your safe return." He said.

"Considering who you impersonated to get in here? I find that unlikely." said Vicki.

"How did you do that anyway? It's not like you have a mask, and Cheryl's met Bruce Wayne before." Virgil inquired.

"Ah, but since my incarceration I have had plenty of time to develop my abilities." gloated the Hood. (A/N: if you've read this far and didn't know who it was, well.. it's kinda obvious.) Virgil unconsciously took a half step sideways to bring himself more between The Hood and Vicki.

"Do you honestly think that by standing in my way you could prevent me from harming your pretty little friend if I so chose?" The Hood sneered. Vicki softly put her hand in Virgil's. It had been a very long time since they had tried anything like they had done as children. But they were both hoping that at the very least the contact would help strengthen their natural abilities and protect them from whatever the Hood planed to do to them.

"Do you think us so afraid that we cower in terror?" asked Vicki as she stepped from behind Virgil, a step closer to the desk, her hand still in his.

"I had hoped." said the Hood.

"We weren't scared of you before. Why would we be now?" asked Virgil.

"Perhaps because I seek retribution? Perhaps because my powers are much stronger than they were the last time we met?" said the Hood.

"Why should we believe you? You haven't offered proof of that." said Virgil, definitely trying to stall.

"You want proof?" the Hood said, frowning and glaring at Virgil.

Vicki, her connection with her brother stronger, _felt the push against what few mental boundaries he had, as the Hood tried to pry into his mind. _She knew she only had seconds. Thankfully she had practiced this with one of the few people who could enter her mind, practiced so much it was now second nature. _She mentally reached out to Virgil and pulled him close, wrapping them both in her mental shield._ The Hood frowned more. _She could feel the pressure getting stronger, but it wasn't nearly enough yet to break her mental shield. _The Hood frowned and turned his gaze to her. _She felt the pressure on her mind, stronger now. _He hadn't got to Virgil, and he wasn't getting her.

"You think frowning at us will make us bend to your will?" she asked calmly, as the twins traded glances.

"Because I feel fine." she continued.

"Me too." agreed Virgil.

"Well. Little thirsty." he said. Vicki shook her head.

"That doesn't count." she said.

"You're right. It doesn't." He looked back towards the Hood.

"You might want to get a refund on those mail order powers." commented Vicki, goading the Hood. He realized that breaking into their minds was not an option. He decided on the messy way, and turned his attention to the desk. But it didn't lift off the floor like he wanted. It just rattled around a bit.

"Well. That's disappointing. I was expecting real powers." said Vicki mildly.

_'Are you trying to tick him off?' _Virgil asked his sister silently.

_'Well there's no way I can take him hand to hand, can you? If he's focussed here he's not looking at the door.' _Vicki answered silently.

"Are you looking to die today?" asked the Hood.

"I've heard so much about you. Trying to kill the Tracys. Trying to destroy International Rescue. And yet you haven't succeeded. Why is that? What could be in your way? You can hire brains. You can hire brawn. You have supposedly amazing powers too. You know it's a wonder you haven't met other people with powers like yours. Over six billion people on the planet. No way you are unique. Not with the odds on that." Vicki said, leaning against the desk, her hand still holding Virgil's.

"Uh, Vicki? I think he has." said Virgil. The Hood tried not to look surprised. Vicki laughed.

"He has hasn't he. Just hasn't figured it out yet." she said mildly.

"You think you can fool me?" demanded the Hood. Again Vicki snorted.

"Why would we need to do that. You haven't even figured out who I am, and all the clues are in this room. So I'll tell you. My name is Victoria Wayne Tracy. No I am not Bruce's daughter and I haven't married a Tracy." she said, a slight smile on her face.

"She's my sister. My Twin sister." Virgil smiled.

"And man, impersonating our uncle? Are you ever in trouble." said Vicki, moving like lightning. Her hand slid under the desk, she pushed the button that unlocked the door, and slid the automatic door release. Before the Hood could turn or think, a blur was through the door and the Hood was unconscious on the floor.

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A/N: Thanks for your patience guys. I know, not a very amazing chapter. I'll try and get the next one up sooner. And just so it's clear, The Hood seems to have gained mild telepathic powers. Just what they want to deal with mild telepathy, major telekanetic and total psycho.

-Raven


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